


Oaths and Symbols

by FlorentineQuill



Category: Maleficent (2014)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Headcanon, balthazar is totally Maleficent's father figure, honor and rank and responsibilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3487085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorentineQuill/pseuds/FlorentineQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balthazar returns something he has kept safe for Maleficent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oaths and Symbols

Maleficent flew above the Moors, circling high in the headwinds. Her wings had regained all of their old strength and more over the past five years. Diaval had been making noises about them taking a trip after Aurora’s second coronation. “There are other lands, you know,” he had teased her. “I’ve heard tales of a great lake that tastes of salt, and of vast desert sands— Can you imagine the thermals there?”

“Perhaps,” she had replied. “What news from the castle?”

And he had sobered, as always. For all of his jokes, he took his duties as ambassador very seriously. It had taken him the better part of three years, but trade agreements and property rights were slowly taking shape. Many of the councillors were disappointed to learn that the vast treasures of the Moors were hardly in the form of silver and jewels— What they had of that was hidden in far away mountains and jealously guarded by dwarves and dragons. Indeed, most of the treasures being offered were simple items, enhanced and crafted by Moor magic. The more reasonable council members were content with the natural resources of timber, and access to the river ways that traversed the Moors, to other lands.

Still, everything that she and Diaval had been working towards was within their reach: Aurora’s second coronation, and the combining of the two kingdoms. There had been a year of careful negotiations for the borders alone. The Moors were not simply being annexed, and they were not opening up new land for the humans to exploit. Diaval had been very forceful on that point; that the Moors were wild lands with wild inhabitants— not to mention the darker fae who preyed on everyone. Fields suitable for farming were in short supply. There weren’t large plains of grass for herd beasts, and many of the trees and plants were entities in their own right. _And speaking of trees_ … Maleficent tucked her wings and dove down to where Balthazar was standing, scanning the skies for her.

“Balthazar,” she greeted with a nod. “Were you looking for me? Or did you have news for Diaval?”

The massive hamadyrad shook his head. “No,” he said. “I was looking for you.” He creaked and groaned in a long sigh. “I have something for you.”

“For me?” she asked, surprised. 

He lifted his chin. “For the Protector of the Moors,” he said, and her heart stuttered in her chest. She was still technically Queen until Aurora was crowned, but she had not thought to reclaim her former title.

“What is it?” she asked.

He kneeled down so that he was not towering over her in his normal fashion. She watched as he scraped away the moss and bark on his chest. With a grunt of effort, he split the wood apart with his own magic. He reached in, and pulled out several somethings that glittered in the afternoon sun. Her breath caught in her chest as he held out the five bands of gold and silver that had once rested on her horns.

“You once wore these as a symbol of your position,” he said gently. “You took them off when you considered yourself unworthy of that title.”

Maleficent’s wings clamped down. Without her wings, she had been unable to protect the Moors. Balthazar had tracked her down to the lakeshore where she had been hiding, half-mad with grief at Stefan’s betrayal, barely recovered from the dangerous fever of iron poisoning. He had tried to comfort her, but she had wanted none of it. 

Her hands had shaken, her shoulders starting to bleed again, crusty scabs splitting open as she had removed the heavy rings from her horns and thrown them at his feet. “I cannot protect myself,” she told him, voice cracking. “How can I protect the Moors now, ruined as I am?”

He had picked up the rings, holding them in his palm. “Wounded, yes. Ruined? _Never._ You are still Protector to me. You have only to call and the hamadyrads will answer.” He left after that, only coming when she had summoned him to help establish her claim as Queen of the Moors.

Now, he held out the rings to her. She ran a finger over them. “I’m not entirely sure I am worthy of that title,” she murmured. “In my own way, I was just as much a tyrant as Stefan.” 

Balthazar rumbled his disagreement. “You kept the Moors safe when he would have invaded. You never coerced or harmed any of the fae, not even those dimwitted pixies. You will step down, and have arranged for the Moors to be protected forever. I say you have earned it back, a hundred times over. The other border fae would say the same— They do not call you Lady of the Thorns or Dark Mistress any longer. And you are still the strongest of the fae. If you are not Protector, who would replace you?” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, then. With such compelling arguments, I dare not refuse.” She picked up the rings, and weighed them in her palm before reaching up to slide them back into place. Three on the right, two on the left, just as she remembered. “Thank you,” she said quietly. 

He inclined his head and stood up. “They suit you far more than a crown ever did,” he said. “I will see you at the coronation.”

She smiled, for Diaval had mentioned the possibility of a hamadryad or two joining Aurora’s guard in a show of solidarity and good faith. Bergren, he had gleefully reported, had gone rather pale at the notion. “Until then,” she replied and watched him fade back into the undergrowth before leaping back into the air.

**Author's Note:**

> So I grew up in the SCA, a medieval recreation group. This mostly shows up in my knowledge of different cultures, types of medieval combat, and oh yes, honor/sworn oaths being ridiculously important to me. If you wear a symbol of rank or office, you better f**king uphold the tenets of that office. This can also translate to mundane things which can be...interesting.
> 
> That totally did not play into the writing of this at all xD


End file.
